Many computing devices, such as hand-held computers, PDAs, and Palm Pilots™, enable users to interact with the device by handwriting over the device's screen. This handwriting may be converted into text or a command that the device can understand.
Interacting with a computer through handwriting, however, can be counter-intuitive and problematic. Take, for instance, how users often select a control, such as a check box or radio button. Users may select a check box by “tapping” a stylus point within the box. Tapping within the box can be counter-intuitive because tapping may have to be learned; it is not like writing on a paper form, with which most users are already comfortable. Also, tapping to select a check box can be difficult on a small screen as the box into which a user taps may be quite small.
Take also, for instance, how users often interact with moving-input controls, like drag-and-move or drawing controls. When a user is handwriting in a mode that allows the handwriting to be interpreted as text, a user may none-the-less want to draw or use a control having a moving input. To do so, often a user must “tap-and-hold” the control. Suppose, for example, that a user is attempting to handwrite text into an existing word-processing document. Suppose also that the user wishes to scroll down to a particular place in the document. To do so, the user can use a slider-bar control. To use this control and scroll through the document, often the user must tap on the slider-bar and hold that tap down until the computer recognizes that the user is attempting to use the slider-bar rather than enter text. Having to tap and hold a control before using it can be counter-intuitive and difficult, especially for small controls on small screens.
These and similar problems can make interacting with computing devices through handwriting difficult and/or counter-intuitive.